Will pub giant set up in Bexhill?

It wants to convert the old Hastings Glass showroom in Wickham Avenue.

The massive national pub chain, famed for its mega-cheap food and drink prices, confirmed this week it is in talks to buy the property and has submitted a planning application to Rother District Council.

The news has sent a wave of anxiety across other town centre publicans.

There are already some 19 bars in the area and the same number of licensed restaurants.

Thirteen clubs also sell drinks.

Three years ago JD Wetherspoon caused controversy in the town when it expressed interest in taking on the running of the De La Warr Pavilion.

The company has been looking for a suitable property in the town centre ever since and thinks the glassworks is ideal.

Hastings Glass stopped trading from the premises last year.

But while the cut-price food and drink on offer at Wetherspoon's might be welcomed by punters, other town centre pubs are worried it could put them out of business.

JD Wetherspoon has almost 700 pubs in the UK and is able to sell beer at knock-down prices due to massive buying power which local pubs can't hope to match.

There is also concern at the type of clientele the new pub could attract, though Wetherspoon insists it has a strong reputation for running popular family establishments.